This final stage can kick in months or years after your body has been exposed to the infection.

It's rare but, if you don't treat it, it can cause serious damage to the nervous system and other internal organs and occasionally prove fatal.

Is it true that babies can get it too?

Yes, syphilis can be passed on from the mother to the baby. If someone has the infection while pregnant they run the risk of having a stillbirth.

Babies born to mothers with syphilis may also have congenital defects such as deafness, neurological impairment and bone deformities. If the mother is not treated immediately, an infected baby could be born without symptoms and develop them within a few weeks.

The symptoms can prove far more serious for babies, have a big effect on their development, give them seizures and even lead to their death.

How do I get rid of the infection?

Well, the first and most important step is to visit your doctor or a screening clinic to have it diagnosed. This can be done in two ways: By examining a sample of one of the infectious sores under a microscope or through a simple blood test. Pregnant woman in Ireland are offered a blood test for syphilis in early pregnancy due to the risk the infection can pose to the baby.

Treatment

Firstly, you'll be offered antibiotics. This is the only treatment for syphilis, and it's very effective. It's incredibly important that you do NOT have sexual intercourse for at least two weeks after treatment and abstain from sexual contact with new partners until all of the sores have completely healed.

Tell your sexual partners that you have the infection because they'll need to get themselves checked out and may require treatment too.

You'll also need to have follow-up blood tests to make sure that the infection is responding to treatment.

Don't panic! Syphilis is very treatable if you catch it early. It's just extremely important to treat all sexual partners of diagnosed patients.